Ever since Russia annexed Crimea and launched an unacknowledged war in eastern Ukraine in 2014, the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, with their large Russian-speaking minorities, have feared they could be next on Vladimir Putin’s list for “reunification.” Since 2014, jets from NATO air forces including the RAF have patrolled Estonia’s skies. In spring an 800-strong battalion of British troops equipped with tanks will arrive as part of what the alliance calls an “enhanced forward presence.” The mission is to deter Russia by demonstrating Western commitment to Baltic security.